Besides running a farm, raising cattle, cutting firewood, and sawing boards, Mike Hansen is an artisan woodworker and a very creative guy. Here’s an outstanding chest he made recently. See more pictures below…there’s something quite interesting inside.
“I’m an organic farmer and artisan woodworker. I don’t do production woodworking. In 1990, I started a woodworking business but people just wanted cabinets and that’s not the kind of work I wanted to do. So in 2015 I went to a log building school and learned Scandinavian hand-scribed log building. That got my kind of woodworking going and was the start of my work with sawmills.
The school’s instructor had a Wood-Mizer® sawmill but it lasted only about three months. You couldn’t cut straight with it. Then I saw a timber frame company that had a TimberKing 1220. They’d drop it on the job site and cut timbers on the spot. I bought my own 1220 and never looked back.
TimberKing’s a perfect extension of my workshop
I bought the 1220 to make materials for my artisan woodworking. The 1220 was a perfect extension of my shop but I’ve had arthritis and knee surgery and soon realized my back and knees would require a hydraulic mill. So I sold the 1220 and bought a TimberKing 2000 with full hydraulics.
Take a look inside Mike’s competition axe box
When you participate in axe competitions, you may bring half a dozen axes with you. Mike’s box doesn’t just hold axes neatly and safely; it’s a beautiful example of his creative woodworking. (Who’s the axe champ? His son, Ben.)
“How hard could it be?”
I bought my 2000 used. It had an electric motor, had only 25 hours on it, and had sat unused for 7 years. I changed out the motor for a 28hp Kubota engine. I thought, ‘how hard could it be?’ Well, it was complicated but great therapy during Covid quarantining. And I learned a lot doing it.
(Editor’s Note: Mike bought his 2000 used and it came without loader arms. He knew they’re important…so he fabricated his own.)
The guys at TimberKing didn’t care if I’d bought a new TimberKing or found one on the side of the road. They helped me with parts and generally put up with me! I got TimberKing’s log turner system – it’s a Godsend and I only wish I had two of them. I designed and built my own log loading system.
“I love the life I’ve built”
One of my projects is for the city of Marshfield, Wisconsin. It’s not to make money; it’s about making friends and making a life I enjoy. The city’s removing a lot of very large, old trees – red oak, cedar, pine, basswood, and more. They have value when cut into slabs and boards. I mill them and the city sells the lumber to local residents. It’s a way of giving back to the city.
I’m working my way up to woodworking as my livelihood. Right now, I’m making a timber frame woodshed for a friend. Another project is turning an old hand-hewn beam into a fireplace mantle. It’s 14” x 7.25” x 8’.
Creativity can’t be ignored
I love life, and I love the life I’ve built; the spontaneity and creativity of it. I was a classic guitarist until I got arthritis and couldn’t play anymore. Then I felt lost until I got into woodworking and felt the same creative fulfillment [in] building things. Creativity can’t be ignored and it’s absolutely important for me to have a sawmill.
What I love about TimberKing is that I can fix it. I can weld if needed, I can pull out bearings and get new ones at the local farm store. I just grab a part from their bins and keep going. It’s a very simple mill and I don’t have to wait for parts.
Built like a farm tractor
I’m very neurotic about accuracy. I use a laser measurer for height to 0.015625″ — that’s 1/64”. When I used a Wood-Mizer®, the cantilevered head bounced and moved around. As a farmer who uses farm equipment, I know TimberKing has a sound platform to run on. It makes all the sense in the world. There are two rails and six locations to level the bed so I have no trouble leveling it or keeping it level. I’ve rolled 30” diameter logs onto it and it hardly moved. TimberKing is quality like a farm tractor – like John Deere or Case. There are a lot of mills out there for hobby sawyers but TimberKing’s great for serious sawing.
“Maybe I’ve pulled it off”
My plan is to retire from farming and do a lot more artisan woodworking for retirement income. It’s nice to not be 20 anymore, wondering if I’d make it in the world. I enjoy being 57 and realizing I might just have pulled this all off! I’m all set up now. We’re closing in on 80 wooded acres up north, I have my TimberKing, a forestry winch, and a son who’s a forester.
Here’s how I look at things. Enjoy what you do. Have a thirst for living. Have a ‘yearning for learning’ and keep learning. Thanks, TimberKing, for supporting those of us who love your mills but can’t afford to buy new.”
— Mike Hansen, Heritage Logcraft, TimberKing 2000 Owner, Milladore WI
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